UN Report: +1 million Uyghurs have been imprisoned or held in detention or re-education centres by the Beijing authorities

China has consistently denied these allegations, but the latest UN report published last month shows otherwise.

Huge numbers of Chinese citizens belonging to the Uighur ethnic minority and other predominantly Muslim communities in Xinjiang have been imprisoned in re-education centres, subjected to intensive surveillance and investigation procedures or even locked up in prison..

The report shows that the Chinese government's definition of extremist behaviour is very loose. For instance, the following actions are considered "primary expressions of extremism" and are therefore prohibited: "interfering with normal cultural and recreational activities, rejecting or refusing public goods and services such as radio and television", "spreading religious fanaticism through irregular beards or choice of name" and "deliberately interfering with or undermining the implementation of family planning policies" (p. 7).

Other behaviours banned because they are considered a sign of "extremism": "opposing existing policies and regulations"; "using mobile phone text messaging and WeChat and other social chat programs to exchange learning experiences, read illegal religious propaganda materials"; "carrying illegal political and religious books and audiovisual products or checking them at home"; "using satellite receivers, internet, radio and other equipment to illegally listen to, watch and spread religious radio and television programs from abroad", "resisting government propaganda" and "and "refusing to watch normal films and TV networks" (p. 8).

None of these behaviours involve violence, nor are they related to violent actions. Instead, these are essentially the free expression of the right to one's identity, privacy and religion. This led to systematic abuses and violations of human rights.

These vague concepts have given Chinese officials a great deal of freedom to interpret and apply the law, leading to abuses and systematic human rights violations.

I invite you to read the full UN report, as well as the official position of several parliaments in Europe and around the world, including the European Parliament - links below.

Even though these things are happening thousands of miles away, we cannot ignore them or be a party to them by choosing to remain silent. It is unacceptable that over 1 million people have their rights violated.

Apart from being locked up in re-education centres and prisons, tens or hundreds of thousands of Uighurs have been put into a system of forced labour.

The European Parliament has condemned the use of forced labour of minorities in Xinjiang province and called for a ban on the import of forced labour products. 

I intend to do the same in the Romanian Parliament.